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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24330952">grizzly bear blues</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware, Half-Life</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Marie's POV, Nonbinary Benrey (Half-Life), Post-Canon, Trauma, gordon is stressed man give him a break, light fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 06:13:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,397</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24330952</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"That's my son. His name's Joshua."</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>Gordon is out of that hellhole and wants nothing more than to see his one son, Joshua. It's the least the universe can do for him after turning on him so violently, right?</p>
<p>In the meantime, Marie brings Joshua to his father, and meets the Science Team.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gordon Freeman/Original Female Characters(s), Past Relationships - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>111</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>grizzly bear blues</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Gordon Freeman had a fair house on a fair street in a fair town-- as fair as a town could be so close to the Black Mesa facility, a shady company that was suddenly defunct and no longer influential. But even so, Black Mesa was what this fair town was hinged on, what his house was built on, and the wood door slams into wood walls as Gordon throws it open with his one good hand. He walks into his home with the same ferocity of a confused, frightened bull, vision red on the edges and spotting black. His throat, already sore, is creaking and grinding with one repetitive growl--</p>
<p>"Joshua! Joshie, Josh, where are you, Joshie, please, come on, Dad's home! Joshua,<em> please</em>--"</p>
<p>More doors are pulled open with that same ferocity, and mounting panic makes him blind and deaf to his surroundings. His son is nowhere to be found-- the "guest" room he resides in is empty and clean, in addition to distinct signs of lack of use everywhere else. The house has been unoccupied. Unused.</p>
<p>For how long, he can't be sure. Probably for as long as he's been in hell. </p>
<p>"Joshua," Gordon grinds out, collapsing onto-- onto something soft, instead of hard. He drags in a breath through his mouth, mostly shocked, and his surroundings are suddenly back into focus. There are eyes on him, and HEV is speaking quietly, matter-of-factly into his right ear. </p>
<p>"You have three available exits. No hostility detected. You are accompanied by Dr. Coomer, Bubby, Tommy, and Benry. You have three available exits."</p>
<p>HEV repeats this methodically, only saying something else when she's determined his awareness to be more cognizant.</p>
<p>"Your friends helped you home, Gordon. No hostility detected. Gordon, are you with me?"</p>
<p>He nods, then taps two fingers against his thigh. Somehow, he's found his bedroom, and is currently sitting on his bed. The room is dark and the windows hidden by an array of blackout curtains. That seems right. The blue lamp on his nightstand is flickering softly.</p>
<p>True to HEV, the Science Team are arranged around him, spaced rather awkwardly around the room. He looks each of them over, but registers very little. They're all looking at him.</p>
<p>"I want my son," he says hoarsely. "I <em>need</em> my son."</p>
<p>Science Team tithers and bobs, saying things that Gordon can't understand immediately. Then someone-- Tommy?-- leaves the room, and HEV speaks calmly, as measured and unruffled as ever.</p>
<p>Tommy returns at some point, proffering a cellphone which definitely is familiar, and is already dialing someone named Marie. Gordon's short arm twitches, as if to reach for the device; he stares dumbly when nothing happens.</p>
<p>His good hand clenches around the device, bringing it to his ear in time to hear Marie.</p>
<p>"Gordon! Gordon, this better be you, I've been so scared-- there's been nothing on the news after we heard about what happened. Are you okay? Gordon, you better say something right now--"</p>
<p>"Marie," Gordon croaks. "Joshua-- Joshie isn't, where's Joshua, he's not here, I lost our son..."</p>
<p>"Oh, Gordon! Joshua's here with me. You asked me to pick him up the- the- Are you alright?" </p>
<p>The question means nothing to Gordon. "Bring Joshie. With you. M'home, now, uh-- hold on..."</p>
<p>He lowers the phone to where HEV's voice can be picked up, and slumps back as his best fucking friend takes over the communication. </p>
<p>The call goes on, and Gordon's brain cools down, soothed by one thing: Joshua is safe. He's with his mother. And they're on their way here.</p>
<p>He can relax now.</p>
<p>With a deep sigh, his body relaxes (in places where pain does not cause his muscles to seize), and the world goes dark for a little while. </p>
<p>
  <strong>...</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>...</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>...</strong>
</p>
<p>Marie's ex-husband's house looks the same. It hasn't changed since the day it was built, nor the day Black Mesa went under. She lets herself in-- the door is unlocked-- and immediately shoves Joshua behind her at what greets her inside. Four men, all strangers, are treating the house like they own the place.</p>
<p>"Who the fuck are you guys? Where's Gordon?" Marie demands, lip curling. Her hand squeezes Joshua's, mindful to not crush.</p>
<p>"Not to worry, Marie! We are the Science Team-- better known as Gordon's friends!"</p>
<p>The one who speaks is old, but taller than the rest. His aging hair is a fuzzy half-crown. Marie frowns as she takes him in.</p>
<p>"Gordon doesn't have work friends-- except that HEV suit," she adds under her breath. "I've never heard of a "Science Team" until now. Explain."</p>
<p>"It's a long story," the man says, and smiles a little sadly. "My name is Dr. Coomer. We were all employees at Black Mesa when the Resonance Cascade occurred."</p>
<p>"A long story that will have to wait after we get Gordon sorted out," the other old man says. He's shorter than the first, and fatter, with a bald spot. "If he was really worried about his son, you'd think he'd stay awake," he scoffs. </p>
<p>Marie doesn't know what to say to that. Insofar, she doesn't trust any of these men, but her concern for Gordon outweighs her suspicion. </p>
<p>"Where is he?" Marie demands once again, fixing Dr. Coomer with a glare. </p>
<p>"In his room," Dr. Coomer says cheerily. "Tommy and Benry are watching over him! They're quite the team!"</p>
<p>I don't know what that means, Marie thinks, but follows the two... scientists... into Gordon's room.</p>
<p>-</p>
<p>The room is dark, save for the familiar blue lamp, and Gordon Freeman is laying on the large bed, completely prone and totally still. His skin, usually tanned, is disturbingly pale where its visible through layers of-- of muck and grime that Marie doesn't want to identify. But she forces herself to look, stunned into silence, cataloging every new mark and scrape--</p>
<p>but she stills completely when her survey crosses the arm, wrapped up in so many bandages, and shorter than the other. </p>
<p>Joshua's hand falls loose from hers, and the child approaches the bedside, looking in wonderment at his father.</p>
<p>"Daddy's dirty," Joshua says. "He needs bath time more than I do."</p>
<p>"Yes, he does," Marie says, breathless. </p>
<p>Finally, Marie brings herself to take in the rest of the room. She opens her mouth to speak but--</p>
<p>"I'm Tommy!" says the man behind Gordon, waving a gloved hand at her. He's older than herself and Gordon, but far younger than the others she's met. "And that's Benry. They look scary, but they're nice." </p>
<p>She looks at Benry, and frowns. They're difficult to look at, if only because the boundaries between "person" and "shadow" are blurred. Bright eyes peek out at her from underneath a dome helmet-- the original color of which is hidden beneath grime. They bare sharp teeth at her in a smile.</p>
<p>"I'm Marie," she says quietly. "I don't trust you people yet. But you seem to care about Gordon, and that's all I can ask for right now."</p>
<p>There was so much she could say. So much she could demand. But even she knew that this wasn't the time or the place for fighting-- her best friend was hurt, if not dying, and the best way to cope as of now was to take things at face value.</p>
<p>(Gordon was never very good at that.)</p>
<p>"Mr. Freeman... is a good man," Tommy replies, returning to his task at hand. He's scrubbing at parts of Gordon's exposed skin, cleaning wounds and bandaging them. The HEV suit hums loudly enough to be background noise, but HEV is silent. "We put a lot on his shoulders, and stressed him out very much, so I think the least we can do is... take care of him now."</p>
<p>"And meet his fail son," Benry puts in, and their voice is more grounded in reality than their body. "But uh... shit, he's not-- he's not as bad a guy as we put'em out to be."</p>
<p>At that, Joshua looks over to Benry, and they lock eyes. A burst of color leaves Benry's mouth, a myriad of colorful balls, that linger and dance in the warm, dark air. </p>
<p>The child laughs, pleased. "Do it again!"</p>
<p>Marie watches them both closely, her fingers twisting the hem of her shirt tightly. </p>
<p>"Once he's better," Marie says softly, "I'm going to interrogate every last one of you until I know exactly what happened."</p>
<p>And that's a promise.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>grizzly bear blues -- corb lund </p>
<p>also, ill be honest, im not too hot at writing out the Science Team, or anyone, so i feel kinda like a hack writing for this fandom. but its fun and makes me happy, so i'm everyone else's problem now.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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